Special schools 'condone' smoking

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SMOKING by under-age children is being condoned by some independent special schools - often leading to a "demeaning" race to light up at break times, writes Karen Thornton.

A new report, Principles into Practice, from the Office for Standards in Education on pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties condemns such behaviour.

But tackling illicit smoking is a minor problem faced by these schools, it finds. Their pupils range from excluded delinquents and victims of child abuse to those with psychiatric disorders.

Such schools often feel unsupported by education authorities and find psychiatric help for pupils is unobtainable or subject to lengthy waits. They also feel let down by social services staff who, they say, give a low priority to education, and by mainstream schools which resist taking difficult pupils back.

Even the best schools for difficult pupils struggle to make lessons more attractive than the "horrendous" street culture and crime with which many pupils are so familiar. They admit the needs of up to 10 per cent of pupils are not being met because of the complexity of their problems or the lack of specialised help.

But some have overcome these problems to provide positive and effective opportunities for their pupils, say the inspectors.

The report, which provides guidance on effective education for disturbed pupils, draws on inspection evidence from 40 special schools judged good or very good, and four schools which were previously failing.

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